Trek on Frigid Island
by Efi Taph
Summary: AU ficlet based off the Virgin Trilogy fancomic series! Unc takes Schwann on an average Drago hunting trip... only to loose his young ward in the snow. Character death. One-shot


_This was not the originally intended ending for this story, but it was the first one I finished, so viola! One angsty fail story right here for your enjoyment! Though I rather enjoyed writing it._

_AU ficlet based off the Virgin Trilogy fancomic series! Read Virgins at: lozv4d dot smackjeeves dot com! Or join the deviantart group: TheVirginTrilogy dot deviantart dot com  
_

_Extra information, character bios, etc can be found at the forum Hub fictionasylum dot boards dot net_

_All Virgins related belongs to me, Legend of Zelda is (c) Nintendo_

**X**

Schwann shivered, pulling his cloak tighter around himself as he continued to follow Unc through the deep snow. They had a lead, but needed to find the hermit living on this frigid wasteland of an island to get a better location on the Drago they were tailing. Schwann had been all for the outing at first, excited as children usually are, to play in the snow. That excitement had quickly fallen however, dude to the numb stumps that were his legs and feet currently.

Unc had warned him to wear a thick coat and a good pair of boots before they left, but Schwann had only half listened. He never wore shoes after all, hated them with a passion, so naturally he hadn't worn any this time either. His thicker hooded cape kept him nice and warm for a while, but because his feet were completely exposed to the frigid temperatures, he'd gotten very cold, very fast.

He could both feel and yet not feel as small bits of flesh were peeled from the souls of his feet by the frozen ground. Them being so numb it felt more like an out of body experience then anything. But it did manage to slow him down, significantly so. Unc had already pulled far ahead of him, the hunter's thick coat and heavy winter boots keeping him warm and moving unlike the young shivering Drago.

Schwann tried to call out as Unc got further away, but his voice was lost in the wind, and no matter how he tried his sluggish body couldn't keep going. Maybe if he changed he could keep up? But he was so cool he was afraid what would happen if he dared to remove what clothes he currently had on just to change. Plus, Unc might be mad if he did. The hunter never liked it much when he changed.

By this point, Unc could no longer be seen through the growing blizzard, and Schwann felt completely alone. Tears filled his eyes, and began to crystallize as they slid down his face. He couldn't move any more... he was just to cold. And Unc had gone on without him... Sniffling, Schwann fell to his knees and wrapped up in a ball, surrounding himself with his cloak to try and wait out the storm. Fearing he may die, may never see Unc again...

Unc tracked back through the snow the next morning, looking for anything that would resemble his missing apprentice. He'd managed to make it all the way to the hermit's home before he discovered that the young Drago was no longer following him. Concerned, he'd attempted to return to find the boy, but the Hermit had halted him, forcing him to wait out the blizzard inside the small hut. No reason for both he and the child to be missing in a storm like this.

Unc had grudgingly accepted, but remained ever vigilant waiting for the storm to end so the Hermit would allow him to locate his fallen comrade. The minute the snow fall began to slow, Unc was out the door and headed toward his ship.

Now as he scoured the ground and seeing nothing but fallen snow, he worried. What if Schwann tried to fly through that? The small drago may have been wind element but surely he couldn't handle wind THAT cold. Unc shuddered slightly as he imagined seeing the body of a frozen drago half buried under the snow, and began to look for anything similar. As he searched he tried to convince himself that Schwann had probably fallen behind and decided to return to the ship. But he couldn't seemed to convince himself of something like that. Schwann wasn't the type to just give up and turn back around.

The hunter's worry began to rise as the sun had reached high in the sky, and he had still yet to find his young ward. He began to call out, shouting for Schwann to come out. Begging the Boy was still okay, almost forgetting that the child was a Draconian and not just a regular human child. Schwann had been HIS responsibility! and Unc had lost him! Lost Schwann in one of the worst possible places to loose a child! In his growing panic and rushing, the hunter tripped and face planted into the snow, cursing as he tried to figure out what on earth was big enough to- His thoughts froze. Schwann.

Quickly getting to his feet, Unc went after the thing on the ground, dusting the freshly fallen snow off the top, quickly revealing it to be Schwann's cloak, wrapped around something large. Unc looked excited at first. he had FOUND him! But then... realization struck. "...Squirt...?" he said softly, peeling the cloak back only to drop it in shock at what lay beneath.

Schwann. The boy's light blonde and white hair glistening with frost, his lips a deep purple from cold, and face a pale pale blue. Frozen to death...

Unc tensed as he looked at the Drago- no... the child. That's what Schwann really was. Just a small boy trying to do him proud. And now he was gone. "Why didn' ya jus' listen ta me Squirt?" Unc asked quietly, his voice coming out as little more then a soft whine. A hand reaching forward to brush at the ice flakes on Schwann's hair, as well as to brush away stray snow flakes that landed on his face. "I's all my faul'..." Unc said quietly. If only he had checked to make sure Schwann was following him before he reached the hermit. If only he'd forced the boy to wear boots just this once, regardless of the boy's hated of footwear.

if only...

if...

only... if...

"'M so sorry..."


End file.
